Walmart's New Food Brand Aims at Trader Joe's

Chain launches Bettergoods as store brands gain popularity; Whole Foods also a target
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2024 1:14 PM CDT
Walmart's New Food Brand Aims at Trader Joe's
This image provided by Walmart shows products from the store's new Bettergoods label.   (Walmart via AP)

Walmart made two big moves on Tuesday, launching a new in-house food brand and scrapping a major venture into health care. Details:

  • Food brand: The chain announced Bettergoods, its first new house brand in 20 years, reports the AP. The idea is to compete with the likes of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and their house brands with products such as rose raspberry jam, curry chicken empanadas, plant-based mac and cheese, gluten-free muffin mix, and oat milk ice cream, per the Wall Street Journal.

  • 3 categories: Walmart—already the nation's largest grocer, per CNBC—plans to have 300 Bettergoods items on shelves by year's end, with most costing under $5. They will be in three main categories: plant-based, those with a "culinary flare," and those without certain additives (think antibiotic-free chicken or gluten-free foods). The chain's Great Value brand, with an emphasis on low cost, will remain, while Sam's Choice products will morph into one or the other.
  • The trend: Walmart is catching up to other companies that have found success with private-label brands in recent years, including Target's "Good & Gather." A big question, as inflation eases, is whether the brand will help the retailer hang on to shoppers who might have switched to Walmart amid rising prices, reports the New York Times.
  • Health care: Also Tuesday, Walmart announced it will close all 51 health clinics that had opened in five states since 2019, reports the Verge. The move won't affect Walmart pharmacies or Vision Centers. CNBC sees the development as a "stunning reversal" for the chain, which says it could not make the business model work. Rising costs and a lack of health-care workers played a role.
(More Walmart stories.)

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